FntS: Rise of the Daemon
by Corrupt TE
Summary: A three-parter taking place after chapter20 of Fear not the Shadows. A Robotnik funded experiment goes haywire and threatens the lives of a small community. But have been prepared for this for a long time. Rated M for bloody violence and death.
1. Daemon Rising

**Corrupt TE here with a new FntS three parter!**

**This story takes place after chapter 20 of my main FntS story.  
>It follows Dr. Robotnik and the consequences of his actions.<strong>

**Written to introduce one of my OC's, who we will be following in another fanfic, and as the origin story for the OC of Silhouette the Daemon-Wolf.  
>As such, credit for use of her character goes to her, but all other OC's are mine.<strong>

**I do not own anything of Sega or the Sonic Team.**

**Now without further ado, read and enjoy.**

**Chapter 1: Daemon Rising.**

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><p>Dr. Robotnik pulled a small laser pistol from his overalls and aimed it at the quivering old man in the stained white coat.<p>

"My patience is at its end my old friend." He growled. "I gave you the information and the technological backing you required, promising in return a powerful and more importantly, controllable life form with which to bring around my glorious plans for this world!"

The old scientist shrank back from the evil genius. "You promised me that you could rectify all the problems concerning the control of the beast after its, less than successful test run."

The scientist's hand ran over a fallen folder as he continued to scramble away from the advancing Doctor. Robotnik stopped and looked down at the black and white photographs which had been knocked free. They were images of a winged beast laying waste to a small village. He glared back down at the now whimpering scientist.

"Time's up Roland. Now where's my Daemon!" Hands shaking, Professor Roland pointed down the line of dimly lit cylindrical stasis tubes which contained his many experiments. Dr. Robotnik grinned maniacally as his eyes fell on the only one still online.

He strode past the scientist towards the floating figure within the green liquid. He saw immediately that the anthro inside was the very same red and black wolf that he had been shown before, although the number of her tails had grown to four. He reached for the control panel which would release her.

"Stop!" Robotnik turned his head to glare at the scientist, who had staggered back to his feet and was leaning on his desk for support. "You must not release her! She's not ready!"

"It is too late Roland. I have my own plans for her, and I will take her, ready or not!"

He thumped the control panel and the greenish fluid quickly drained away. The wolf slid down to her knees and coughed more liquid from her lungs as they began working on their own for the first time in years. With a hiss of decompression, the cylindrical tube raised, exposing the soaking wolf to the cold air of the laboratory.

Her eyes snapped open at the sudden chill, her breath misting in the air. For a short moment Dr. Robotnik saw her eyes glowing a shining silver, before her black pupils swiftly dilated into something akin to a lizards or a snake. She snapped her eyes closed, arched her back and screamed.

Dr. Robotnik scrambled back, fear suddenly flowing through him. He quickly glanced back at Professor Roland, who was curled up under his metal desk and was shivering in terror. The Doctor looked back just in time to see two large leather wings erupt from the wolf's back, shredding the back of her black bodysuit. Her four fluffy tails had intertwined tightly and scales were swiftly spreading down them, forming one long reptilian tail with an extremely sharp and deadly looking point at the end.

All of a sudden she ceased her cries of distress and pain. She took a deep breath and rolled her shoulders as she rose to her feet. She opened her eyes and flexed her clawed fingers. She focussed on Dr. Robotnik whose survival instincts kicked in as he activated his molecular transporter and vanished. The creature grinned, revealing a set of razor sharp fang like teeth and sniffed the air deeply.

"I've got your scent, you can't run forever." A whimpering sound reached her ears and her eyes focussed on the shivering form of Professor Roland. She cocked her head in amusement and dropped from the slightly raised base of her containment cell. She walked lithely towards him, her long serpentine tail swishing almost lazily behind her.

She squatted down in front of him and smiled, a sinister gaze in her eyes.

"Hello… father." Suddenly she grabbed the terrified Professor and hoisted him into the air with one hand holding tightly to his white coat.

"Why so afraid, father?" She asked mockingly. She twisted him in her grip to stare at his face from different angles. "You've gotten old, and weak."

She threw him clear across the room, sending him crashing into another of his experiments, smashing the cylinder and sending the Professor, the corpse of the experiment and a flood of green liquid sloshing to the floor.

Professor Roland whimpered as he tried to drag himself away from the advancing creature he had loved like a daughter. He cried out in pain as she stomped on one of his legs, snapping the bones like dry wood. She laughed at his pain and bent down to whisper into his ear.

"You know, the first thing I'm going to do when I leave here… I'm going to find a helpless little girl and torture her until she begs for death, just like you did." She twisted his head to stare into his pain filled eyes. "But then, do you know what I'm going to do?"

She slammed his head into the cold metal floor with such force that the crack of his skull echoed loudly in the silence. She stood upright, looking down at the Professor's lifeless body with contempt as his blood pooled slowly across the floor, mixing with flecks of clear cerebrospinal fluid that seeped through the breaks in his skull.

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><p>The creature blasted out of the mountainside laboratory with an explosive demonstration of her Chaos powers. As she unfurled her wings, pieces of debris and machinery rained down around her. Dark energy sparked from her claws causing snow and ice to flash into steam and her eyes blazed red with a rage of decades. They focussed on a small column of smoke rising from behind the snowy peaks.<p>

Snarling with glee, she unfurled her leathery feathered wings and took off into the dark night sky.

In the small village tucked away within the snow covered peaks, an elderly pair of eyes snapped open.

"She has returned!"

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><p>Minutes later the alarm had been sounded and a dozen hand picked warriors stood ready and at attention outside their Chief's tent awaiting instructions. They had been trained solely for this day.<p>

The villagers rushed to gather together the emergency supplies and prepare to flee down the mountain side to the caves, where they hoped they would survive the coming danger. This was a day they had prepared for and feared, for over thirty years. Young children cried for their mothers, while old men wished the warriors luck, knowing full well that they might never return.

For hundreds of years, the Zeno clan had dwelt in these mountains. For generations they had scraped a living from the icy tundra, rarely venturing below the snowline. They were a close-knit, stoic and rugged people; they were as stubborn as the very mountains upon which they lived.

They were Echidna's. Blue furred and hardy natured, they were perfectly adapted to life amongst the snowy peaks.

The Clan Chief emerged from his tent, strapping on his intricately etched shovel-claws. Used as both tools and weapons of war, these folded metal gauntlets covered the fist and spurs with long sharp punching spikes fitting over a male echidna's natural spurs.

The large echidna walked down the line of warriors. These he knew were the best warriors of his entire clan, trained since birth in the arts of combat and war. It was both an honour and a curse to be one of them.

To be a Forlorn was to be the best, the elite, the lost, the already dead. They carried no surname, and they were forbidden to form a bond with anyone, as they were destined to die in battle. Many looked on the Forlorn with pity, others with regret.

The Chief stopped at the last and eldest in the line. He alone was the only surviving warrior who had fought against the Daemon nearly thirty five years ago, Rukrh. Grizzled and scarred, the large echidna had taken it upon himself to train warriors in preparation should the creature return. Thus giving rise to the Forlorn.

"The day has finally come. The Daemon which nearly destroyed our very existence has returned." Nearby villagers whimpered and scurried away. The warriors of the Forlorn didn't move, save for quills and cloaks fluttering in the wind. "You all know what you must do. Protect the Acolytes with your very lives."

A small group of five black cloaked echidnas stepped into the flickering light of the flaming torches. Between four of them was carried a small box containing nothing but an amulet, the only surviving relic from before the Great Calamity, and the most powerful artefact in their Clan.

"Only they have the ability to prepare the amulet. You must ensure the Daemon does not reach them before the ritual is complete." The four figures placed the box on the ground and drew strange twisted black staffs from their cloaks. "Once the ritual is complete, one of you must drive the amulet into the flesh of the creature, and speak the words the Forlorn have carried all these long years!"

The Chieftain faced the head Acolyte and Rukrh. "I will lead the villagers away. Good luck my friends, and should the worst come, I will see you in the halls of our Ancestors."

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><p><strong>Ha ha! Oh I enjoyed writting this. A real chance to get gritty and violent.<strong>

**I think I did quite well here, but that's my opinion, I'm interested in what you think.**

**As usual, this has been Corrupt TE.  
>Stay tuned for the next chapter, coming soon.<strong>


	2. Exaro Nex

**Hello everybody, Corrupt TE here.  
>And today we have the next instalment of FntS: Rise of the Daemon.<strong>

**Quick warning vefore we begin, there's plenty of blood and gore in this chapter,  
>no likely, no ready.<strong>

**Ok, lets get on with this!**

**Exaro Nex.**

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><p>The warriors of the Forlorn had spread themselves out in pairs, eyes watching the sky, weapons held tightly and their breath, shallow and controlled, misting in the air. Behind them, the Acolytes were busy preparing the ritual which would give them the only weapon capable of disrupting the Daemon's powers, giving a warrior time enough to land the killing blow.<p>

Standing at the furthest point away from the Acolytes, two Forlorn observed the mass exodus of nearly two hundred of their people. They both wore thick fur cloaks to protect them from the worst of the howling wind and both were prepared to lay down their lives at a moments call.

"You ever wonder what things would've been like? You know, if we weren't Forlorn?" Asked the shorter of the two. She carried a thick shield of hardened wood strapped to her left forearm and a short sword sheathed against her thigh. Like the rest of her clan, her fur was blue in colour, although hers shifted towards the lighter side of the spectrum. Her hazel eyes looked up at the Forlorn next to her, who was staring into the distance. "Garth? Anybody home?"

She waved her free hand in front of his face causing him to snap back into focus.

"Kalieen!" He glared down at her. His fur was a much deeper blue than his fellow Forlorn, and he had let his long, dreadlock like quills grow to lie just below his shoulder line. Attached to his forearms was a set of silvery metal vambraces, the metal matching that of the shovel claws he wore as his primary weapon.

"What? I just asked you a question and you were off in lala land, what was I meant to do?" He rolled his eyes and went back to scanning the horizon.

"You drive me crazy sometimes."

"But you wouldn't have me any other way, would ya?" She playfully nudged him in the rips, although his solid footing prevented him from being moved.

"No I wouldn't." Kalieen smiled and laid her head against his shoulder. They stood this way for several moments, staring out into the darkness and watching the flickering torches of the villagers as they scurried about.

"To answer your question Kalieen, I have been thinking about how things would've been different." She looked up into his face. His green eyes still looking out into the darkness. "I've gone through nineteen winters, you seventeen. Others our age aren't exactly worried about death."

"I know what you mean." She said with a grin. "They're more worried about-"

A high pitched screaming snapped them both back into focus and they spun towards the direction it had come from, readying their weapons.

"By the Ancestors…" Whispered Kalieen fearfully. Standing at the edge of the firelight, resting her foot on the still form of a Forlorn and holding the bloodied and torn body of the other in her claws, was the Daemon.

Her fur was black and red; two large black leathery feathered wings were folded behind her back and a long sinuous lizard-like tail flicked through the snow. She wore some sort of skin-tight black, sleeveless bodysuit which almost hid her completely in the darkness. But it was her eyes that unnerved the two warriors the most. They were blood red and seemed to glow with malice. The grin on her face was evident as she tossed aside the lifeless warrior like he weighed nothing at all.

She had been drawn to the growing power of the ritual, which even at this moment was slowly nearing completion.

"We must protect the Acolytes at all costs!" Boomed the voice of the Rukrh. "Forlorn! Exaro Nex!"

The Forlorn echoed his battle cry and charged, spears, swords and shovel-claws glinting in the firelight as they leapt to their duty. Six, including Garth and Kalieen stopped between the Daemon and the Acolytes; they would be the last line of defence for the vulnerable shaman and his followers. The Daemon laughed as the others got nearer, walking slowly towards them, her wings spread wide and her long claws flexing in anticipation.

A warrior lunged forward, intending to skewer the creature on the end of his spear. The Daemon casually deflected the weapon with the back of her hand and plunged her claws into the warriors' skull, with a twist and a sickening snap of bone and cartilage; she ripped his head from his shoulders and hurled it at the second Forlorn, who barely managed to deflect the improvised projectile with her shield.

In a blur, she was amongst them. The lucky warrior had her chest torn open by the Daemon's claws; Rukrh was sliced in half at the waist by the creatures' razor sharp, bone like blades on the fore-edge of her wings, leaving the last standing to be run through by the point of her tail. She turned to the remaining six warriors, amusement glinting in her blood red eyes.

"Is that really the best you can do?" She asked mockingly. She bent down and picked up the top half of Rukrh and stared at his scarred, lifeless face for a moment. "I thought I killed him last time… Oh well."

She unceremoniously let him drop with a shrug. "Guess it doesn't really matter anymore."

With a cry of rage, Garth charged forward with two other Forlorn by his side. The Daemon spun into a crouch and leapt towards them, her claws extended. Garth dropped to his knees and slid in the snow, dodging her lunge.

Things seemed to move in slow-motion as the creature sailed over him. He whipped his head around just in time to see her land and race towards Kalieen and the others. He scrambled to his feet, slipping in the snow and the blood. One of the Forlorn who had charged forward with him was already after the winged creature, the other lying motionless on the ground with the top half of her head missing.

Kalieen brought her shield to bear and met the Daemon's charge head on, only for the creatures' long claws to pierce through the heavy wood and into the flesh of her arm. The Daemon spun her like a ragdoll before throwing her into the group of black cloaked Acolytes.

The other two barely had time to raise their weapons when the creature simultaneously tore out their throats in an explosion of blood, before leaping on the nearest black caped echidna and proceeding to tear him into shreds. Garth finally got a good footing and charged, barely a few seconds behind the other Forlorn. The Daemon had killed two more Acolytes by the time they managed to get to her.

The two Forlorn remaining standing attacked at the same time. The Daemon managed to dodge the sword thrust, but one of the points on Garth's own shovel claws bit home.

She shrieked and in a single beat of her wings leapt more than two dozen paces away, her hand pressed against her left eye as thick blood ran through her fingers. She stared first at her blood covered hand, and then Garth, rage contorting her face as blood trickled from a deep gouge in her left eyebrow.

"You got lucky Echidna!" She spread her wings wide. "But let's see what your petty little villagers think!"

The echidna's stared in horror as she took off and flew in the direction of the mass exodus of unarmed and intensely vulnerable villagers.

"Garth, what do we do?" He looked over and saw that Kalieen was back on her feet and nursing a bleeding shield arm. The other Forlorn, who Garth recognised as Tenri had the same expression of panic and desperation on his face.

"You two!" Garth shouted, pointing at the last remaining Acolytes. "Finish the ritual and prepare the amulet."

He turned towards Tenri. "We'll go after that Daemon! It's our duty to destroy her and save as many villagers as we can!"

Tenri nodded, his face pale and sweaty as he clenched his twin short-swords tightly.

"What about me?" Asked Kalieen, her voice trembling. Garth looked at her sadly.

"Bring us the amulet once the Acolytes complete the ritual." He gestured to Tenri and he set off towards the bouncing torches of the villagers.

"How will I find you?" Kalieen asked, tears glistening in her eyes.

"Just follow the screams!" Garth replied darkly.

Kalieen suddenly stepped up and kissed him full on the lips, a kiss he returned. They parted a moment later, and with determination in his eyes, Garth turned and chased after Tenri and the Daemon.

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><p>The two warriors charged through the snow. Already screams of terror flitted through the air and fire leapt up from the outlining houses sending thick plumes of smoke into the sky. They ran past the bloodied remains of warriors who had tried to stand their ground, and the unmistakable bodies of the helpless villagers who had been caught up in the creatures rage.<p>

Nearing the source of the screams, the two Forlorn readied for battle. Sprinting around a wooden shack their eyes fell upon their enemy. The Daemon held a warrior by the throat, slowly crushing the life from his body as other echidnas fled before they became the next victim.

Her eyes caught sight of the two Forlorn and with a snarl and an amazing show of strength; she threw the now lifeless echidna towards them. Both Garth and Tenri dove to the sides as the corpse sailed through the air. Rolling back to their feet, they charged, bellowing war cries as they went. The Daemon hissed and met their charge head on. She twisted past their attacks, kicking Tenri in the chest and driving her tail towards Garth.

Garth dodged as quickly as he could, but the tip of the Daemon's tailed pierced deeply into his right shoulder. She whipped her tail and he was sent flying through the air, slamming into a nearby wooden shack. He looked up groggily and looked back at the Daemon.

The creature picked a stricken Tenri up from the ground, kicking his blades away from his reaching fingers.

"Who do you echidna's think you are!" She demanded with pure venom injected into every word. "I am Silhouette! I am your worst nightmare! I am your Grim Reaper!"

She drew back her hand and plunged her clawed fingers into Tenri's chest. Snarling she ripped her hand from his chest and held something in her palm. She tossed Tenri aside before turning back on Garth, who had just managed to pull himself to his feet.

She walked towards him, the very fires of hell burning in her eyes. Garth's own green eyes widened when he saw what she casually tossed up and down in her hand, Tenri's still warm and bleeding heart.

"You creatures sicken me, running around on your short, pointless lives." She crushed Tenri's heart and threw it to the snow. "You do not know what powers you are messing with!"

"I know that thirty-five years ago, you slaughtered your way through dozens of warriors, destroyed the lives of countless, and almost exterminated our way of life!" Garth clenched his fists and glared at the winged beast. "I may not have been alive back then, but I have dedicated my life to training for this very day!"

With a loud cry, he surged forward, striking out at the Daemon with all of his ferocity and strength. The Daemon Silhouette lithely avoided his clumsy assault and swept her clawed fingers towards his face.

Garth somehow managed to twist himself and avoid the worst of her counterattack, however one of her claws sliced through his flesh over his right eye, before she kicked him hard in the chest, sending him sprawling back into the snow. Blood pumped from the cut across his eye and everything he saw through that eye was blurry and red.

He kept his injured eye clenched shut, and he looked up as Silhouette stalked towards him.

Suddenly, Kalieen leapt out and landed on the Daemon's back. She pressed something to the creatures face as she held onto the struggling Daemon with all her might.

"Redimio is Everto! Signum suus vo-" With a cry of rage, Silhouette threw the echidna from her back. The sacred clan amulet landed with a soft thud just in front of Garth.

"You foul little speck of filth!" He looked up from his prone position just in time to witness the Daemon lifting Kalieen into the air by her throat, and driving a fist into the helpless echidna's stomach. Blood spurted from her mouth and around the Daemon's wrist. With a snarl and a twist, Silhouette snapped Kalieen's spine and let her slide out of her grasp.

Memories flashed through Garth's mind. When he first met Kalieen and their first training session together, the conversations they shared and the lingering gazes they sent each other, the first time they kissed and that night they had shared together. Everything flooded back, and was swept away in one single moment.

Rage coursing through him, he snatched up the amulet and leapt towards the creature; grabbing its left arm he forced the Daemon to its knees, pressed the amulet against its skin and began to recite the words that all Forlorn had been taught from the moment of their initiation.

"Redimio is Everto! Signum suus vox! Per vorago quod ultra, permissum is exsisto!" His voice echoed across the blood soaked tundra, over the crackling of his burning village, over the continuing cries of the fearful and the dying.

As soon as the last syllable left his mouth, the Daemon screamed an otherworldly scream, one that seemed to pierce through to his very soul. He was flung back, landing in the snow next to the rapidly cooling body of his friend, partner and lover, Kalieen.

The Daemon writhed in agony, trying to claw the glowing amulet from its left shoulder to no avail. Its shrieking reached fever pitched and Garth was forced to cover his ears against the sound, and yet even then it was almost unbearable. His eyes clenched shut in pain, hot blood running down his face. He curled up into the foetal position, unable to witness the Daemon as she rose, shrieking into the air.

A great flash of light lit the sky like a second sun, burning brightly even from behind his eyelids. All too suddenly it was over, and there was silence.

He laid there for a moment, before uncurling and rising shakily to his knees. He opened his eye and looked over to where the Daemon had been. There was a dark shape lying on the ground, silhouetted by the flickering flames.

Grunting, the echidna clambered to his feet. His left hand pressed to his right shoulder, wet blood slowly seeping through his fingers as he trudged slowly towards the shape. As he neared, his eyes widened.

What lay in the snow wasn't the draconic Daemon that had slaughtered its way through a score of warriors and laid waste to his village. Instead there was a young red furred wolf with four tails and black streaks running through her fur. She was wearing the same sleeveless black outfit, and there were two large holes in the back where the Daemon's wings would have been, but there was little else to show that she was the creature that had caused so much death and destruction.

He looked down into her face, taking in her features. The long red and black hair that flowed down her back, the near peaceful look on her unconscious face, and the bloody gouge he had taken out of her left eyebrow.

Snarling he raise his fist, preparing to deliver the final blow. The orange light of the flames flickered off the silvery metal of his shovel claws and vambraces. The girl groaned and rolled onto her side.

Something inside forestalled him. Into the flesh of her left shoulder blade was seared the exact shape of the sacred amulet, which lay blackened and twisted a few feet away.

He looked around at the bloody carnage that had been wrought, the pillar of smoke that climbed into the sky, and the distant torch light of the escaped survivors still flickering on the horizon. Turning his eyes to the heavens, he watched as the river of life danced through the sky. He closed his eye and stood like this for several minutes.

Finally nodding to himself, he bent down and lifted the unconscious wolf into his arms. Step by step he walked away from the carnage, away from the acrid smoke of his burning home and away from his clan, preying all the way that his choice wouldn't be a mistake.

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><p>Translations: Exaro Nex! - Till Death!<br>Redimio is Everto! Signum suus vox! Per vorago quod ultra, permissum is exsisto!  
>Bind this Demon! Seal its power! By the abyss and beyond, let it be!<p>

Oh! And the River of life is the Mobius version of the Aurora Borealis.

**Woo! Long and violent chapter!  
>Really wanted to do a chapter like this for ages so hope it came out alright.<strong>

**Anyway: not much more to say except stay tuned for the final chapter of FntS: Rise of the Daemon!**

**-Corrupt TE-**


	3. An End and a New Beginning

**Third and final chapter of FntS: Rise of the Daemon.**

**Without any further ado, read, review, and most improtantly enjoy.**

**An End and a New Beginning**

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><p>Garth slowly trudged down the mountain side, the howling wind at his back and the dead weight of the wolf in his arms. The pain in his shoulder and on his face would have been unbearable, had it not been for the pain of loss he felt in his heart, the loss of his friends, comrades and the loss of Kalieen. The woman who would have been his wife had it not been for their duty.<p>

Inside he questioned his actions, why was he helping the one who had caused so much pain and death, what possible reason did he have for sparing her life when all of his training demanded him to make the final blow, why hadn't rage at the loss of his love descended on the one who had taken her life so cruelly?

The memory of her death repeated over and over again as he stomped through the snow. He refused to cry, mainly due to the fact that at this height and temperature his tears would freeze his eyelids shut, and since his right eye was already frozen closed with his blood he couldn't afford to lose his left, but also because a Forlorn was taught and trained to never show emotions of fear or sorrow, they were to be stoic and unnerved against all atrocities and actions of their enemy. They were to be a bulwark against which other warriors would stand strong.

He did however feel sorrow, he did however feel fear, and all he wanted to do was sit down and weep, releasing everything in a single cascade of salty tears.

But he couldn't. He wouldn't.

He still had his duty to fulfil, and although he couldn't bring himself to kill the helpless wolf in his arms, he still had to find a solution, still had to ensure the safety of his clan, and the world.

And as he slowly made his way down the mountainside, he preyed that the person he was seeking was not only where he hoped they would be, but also that they would be able to help him.

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><p>By the time his feet stepped out of the snow and onto the grey stone, the wolf in his arms was slowly coming too. A number of times her eyes had flickered open and closed, an occasional moan easing through her lips.<p>

Her whole body ached and a sharp throbbing pain plagued her shoulder and her forehead. The first time her eyes had opened she had caught a sight of the one carrying her. His face was bloody and yet set with a grim determination.

She couldn't remember… anything. It was like her mind was completely blank. She didn't know where she was, didn't know who was carrying her, or why she was in such pain. She couldn't even remember her name. All she had was a distinct feeling of regret, and the sensation that something was wrong, very wrong.

She felt the cold, saw the snow, but didn't feel the sting of the cold wind, quickly realising that whoever held her in his arms was also acting as a shield against the bitter wind.

She felt weak and often slipped in and out of consciousness. Every time she closed her eyes, something changed. Either the sky had grown lighter, the snow fall had slowed, or the sound of the wind softened.

Although she had every reason to be afraid and confused, for some reason she felt safe in the strangers' arms. So secure in fact, that she slowly drifted to sleep.

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><p>His legs were beginning to burn when he finally saw his destination. A small wooden shack stood out on the horizon; jutting out of the stone at an odd angle like the building itself was attempting to lean out of the wind. He had been here once before with the other Forlorn, when Rukrh had led them here to acquire knowledge on the creatures' abilities.<p>

They had learnt from an eccentric old man with orange hair and an energy far beyond his years. He taught them about the powers of Chaos, and its natural flow some Mobians, especially anthro. He showed them both the destructive and healing effects Chaos energy had, and Garth had been very interested at how, with a certain amount of Chaos energy, an individual could increase their natural speed, strength, endurance and abilities more than ten-fold!

The man, a Professor Von Schlemmer, then told them that the best way to counter the powers of Chaos, was to let it run its course or counter with an energy infused being of equal or greater power. It was then that Rukrh had dismissed him as a madman and stormed out of the small shack, taking the Forlorn with him.

Garth was, therefore extremely glad to see smoke slowly drifting from the lopsided chimney sticking out of the roof.

He soon reached the front door. With his hands full he kicked the door thrice.

As soon as he had, he heard a cry and a crash.

Shortly afterwards the door was pulled open and the echidna was greeted by the wide eyes, toothy smile and bushy orange eyebrows of the very man he wanted to see. He looked over the two gaunt and bloody anthro with a wide grin on his face.

"Come in, come in!" He practically pulled Garth inside and sped off into the depths of his surprisingly large home. "You're just in time to see my latest invention!"

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><p>Garth gently laid the wolf onto a bed which looked like it hadn't been slept in for months. He looked about the contraption strewn single room house, and was once again at a loss to how it was so large on the inside when from the outside it was little more than a wooden shack. Even the walls looked different from the inside; they were solid stone and covered with a strangely nauseating green coloured paint.<p>

He started to examine the injuries he had sustained in a nearby mirror when the kooky Professor came rushing back into view carrying an odd shaped machine in his arms.

"I call this Multi-Hairial Trimmer-Kajig! Designed to cut your hair to your very own personal specifications!" Garth gave the Professor and odd look. It was clear that if the machine were to be used for trimming hair, the user would get an extremely short haircut, and never need one again. He shook his head.

"Listen, Professor Von Schlemmer-"

"Who?" The Professor interrupted. Garth paused for a moment, hardly believing his ears.

"You." He finally replied flatly.

"Ah yes of course!"

"Shut up and listen for a minute!" The echidna snapped. "I need your help."

The utterance of those words caused the Professor to perk up to new heights of eccentricity. "I need you to get me some medical equipment. A needle, some thread, alcohol and some bandages."

Professor Von Schlemmer rubbed his hands together and darted back out of sight behind his various experiments and inventions. He quickly returned with all the echidna had asked for to find him sat next to the unconscious form of a young crimson furred wolf, gently dabbing the deep gash in her eyebrow with a damp cloth.

"Four tails!" He exclaimed loudly. "I've only ever seen someone with two tails and that was-"

"Professor!" Garth reached out and grabbed the items from the odd humans' hands and set to work carefully cleaning and stitching the gash closed.

Professor Von Schlemmer looked on in uncharacteristic silence as the echidna continued with his precise yet gentle healing. He placed a thick medical padding over the now sealed cut and proceeded to wrap a small bandage around her head to keep it in place. Once he was finished he leaned back and analysed his work before standing up and taking the equipment to the mirror.

"You are very skilled with a needle." Said the Professor admiringly. He turned around just in time to see Garth carefully wash his eye clear of blood. He saw the echidna frown at his reflection. "Something the matter?"

"It's odd. Last night my friends were brutally killed, and I get away with just two scars." He chuckled sadly, holding his slashed eyelids open with his fingertips. "I should have lost this eye. But here I am, with both eyes working just fine…"

He trailed off as he recalled all those he had seen get killed, some he had known for his whole life.

In silence he took the needle and doused it with more alcohol before rethreading it and bringing the point to his eye.

"Professor, don't do anything to startle me. I'd rather keep my eyesight if its all the same to you." Von Schlemmer answered with a nod and watched in fascination as the echidna carefully began stitching his own injuries closed. After several minutes, Garth dropped the needle from his shaking hand and proceeded to bandage his eye with white clinical cloth. He then turned he attention to the stab wound in his shoulder.

"Thank you for helping me Professor." He said as he continued working. "But I'm afraid I must ask another favour from you."

"Of course! I am always willing to help those in need!" Garth smiled at those words.

"Good. The wolf on your bed is in danger here."

"Then we must get her out of here!" Shouted the Professor, making a move to pick the sleeping girl up.

"Not here!" Garth snapped. "She's in danger from, and a danger to Mobius as a whole. And I've brought her to you because I think you can help."

Professor Von Schlemmer rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"It is possible that there are a multitude of other worlds to which she can be sent, saving her and our planet in one quick swoop! It is a very helpful coinkydink that I have just invented a machine capable of transporting someone to a completely different dimension!"

Garth looked at the Professor sceptically as he began bandaging his shoulder. "Right…"

"Oh yes indeed! Come quickly, and bring the guinea pig!" The echidna suddenly realised that he could relate to Rukrh's view of the Professor as he carefully lifted the wolf in his arms. The movement caused her to stir and open her eyes.

"Who… where am I?" She asked weakly. Garth looked down into her silver eyes and considered how to answer her. Her expression changed to one of confusion. "Who am I?"

Garth heard a hint of fear in her voice and felt a pang of sympathy. She looked and sounded so different to the creature she had been and he couldn't bring himself to remain silent. "Your name is Ashlie."

He wasn't sure where the name had come from, but to him it sounded right. She seemed to take some comfort from the name, the panic leaving her eyes. "Where am I?"

"Somewhere safe. We're going to send you somewhere safe." She frowned and her eyes were beginning to flutter, she was close to falling asleep again.

"Who are you?" Garth laid her down gently on the machine Professor Von Schlemmer had led him too.

"Someone who…" He paused, trying to find something comforting to say. "Someone who'll watch over you, should Chaos deem it necessary."

The wolf closed her eyes and her breathing became rhythmic and shallow. Garth turned to Von Schlemmer.

"Are you sure this will work?" The Professor pressed various buttons and flipped several switches making the machine hum rather ominously.

"There is always a chance that our reality will be torn apart be the activation of this machine, or that every dimension and reality will fold in on itself making everything no longer exist!" Professor Von Schlemmer produced a red Chaos Emerald from the recesses of his coat and placed it into a section Garth could only assume was for power.

"So this thing could kill us!" The echidna cried out.

"There's only a seventy-three percent chance of that happening though." Garth barely had time to register what Von Schlemmer had said when he flipped the main power switch causing the machine to activate and emit a bright red glow which obscured the wolf, Silhouette from view.

Moments later the light vanished, along with the Chaos Emerald which had provided the power, and the prone figure of the newly named Ashlie.

"It worked!" Von Schlemmer exclaimed in wonder. Garth walked up and laid his hand on the now empty bed, an unreadable expression on his face.

Shortly afterwards, Garth said his farewells to the mad Professor and left his shack. He took one last look back at the small wooden building and shook his head. He turned his feet towards a down slope, deciding that he would do something he had wanted to do for many years. Explore the world.

* * *

><p>The elderly Professor was walking through the rain. He hunched his shoulders against the cold and the rain as he walked from the university he worked and back toward his house. Suddenly a bright flash of red light caught his attention and he jogged towards the area it had come from.<p>

What he found was a strange humanoid creature with red and black fur, four tails and features resembling that of the common wolf.

His name was Professor Cratermass, and his life was about to change completely.

* * *

><p><strong>And that brings us to the end of FntS: Rise of the Daemon.<br>But that doesn't mean we won't hear from Garth or Ashlie again!**

**As this story was written as the origin to Ashlie/Silhouette the Daemon-Wolf, you can follow her adventures by checking out Silhouette's profile page.  
>As for Garth, we will be following his adventures another time.<strong>

**And so, follow your dreams and maybe you'll do or find something that changes your life completely.**

**Till next time!**

**-Corrupt TE-**


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